When You Are A King

Album: My Baby Loves Lovin' (1970)
Charted: 13
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Credited to J. & R. Hill and produced by Roger Greenaway, "When You Are A King" is the outstanding song from a far from outstanding group, and as good as it got for White Plains, in the 1970s anyway. Backed by "The World Gets Better With Love," this is cut from the same cloth as the even more endearing "Liverpool Lullaby." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • White Plains were a studio group put together by Roger Greenaway and his songwriting partner, Roger Cook. The vocalist was session singer Tony Burrows who in the late '60s and early '70s fronted a number of studio groups. They included The Flowerpot Men ("Let's Go to San Francisco"), Edison Lighthouse ("Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)"), The Pipkins ("Gimme Dat Ding") and Brotherhood of Man ("United We Stand").

Comments: 1

  • Kelly from Pennsylvania Not sure why Tony Burrows is always referred to as “the voice of White Plains”. It was Ricky Wolff and Pete Nelson who sang the majority of songs. Tony only sang a few on their first LP, but didn’t actually sing lead on any of their singles. “My Baby Loves Lovin’” was sung by Ricky with Tony doubling him on the chorus. It becomes obvious when you listen to the other songs Ricky sang lead on. And this song “When You Are a King” was sung by Pete (recorded a year and a half after Tony left the band!).
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.